bfollowell

Yeah, that is really weird, especially since Star Raiders didn't boot up. It's a good diagnostic cart because of the way it boots. I wouldn't have expected any signs of life from any others at all from what you've described getting from Star Raiders. You have the right group of fellow users on this thread though. If they can't help you get it going, something really major is up. @Beeblebrox is self-taught, but he's acquired a ton of A8 knowledge through trial and error troubleshooting and he has a very good methodology for troubleshooting these old machines. As far as @flashjazzcat goes, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone anywhere that knows more about the A8 machines than him. If they can't help you get this machine going, it truly is dead.

I've used an AtariMax SIO2PC USB adapter with their APE and ProSystem softwares, as well as a homemade SIO2USB cable I made using a DTech FTDI USB to TTL Serial 5V Adapter Cable that I ordered from Amazon, link below, using respeQt. I've used these with everything from Windows 7 through Windows 11, all 64-bit versions, and never had any trouble whatsoever. I'm not a Linux user and have zero experience with it, so I can't even hazard a guess as to what your issues may be, but I can confirm that these devices and softwares work fine with "modern" systems and OSes made within the last fifteen years, at least in general. I know I've heard of others using at least some of these with Linux and Mac systems, either natively, or through a Windows emulator, so I know it can be done, but again, I have no direct experience with it. DTech FTDI USB to TTL Serial 5V Adapter Cable 6 Pin 0.1 inch Pitch Female Socket Header UART IC FT232RL Chip Windows 11 10 8 7 Linux MAC OS (6ft, Black)

There's enough of us having issues that it sounds like a real issue. Strangely though, I've not experienced a similar issue with either Chrome or Firefox in recent memory.

Well, for stx files, neither FlashFloppy nor HcX are compatible with stx files directly, unless something has changed recently. There are details somewhere on the HcX website with details on how to convert a disk image to an hcx file or hfe or whatever the native HcX format is. You can convert an stx file to this and it may work. I've done this successfully with some stx files. Your best bet is to find a non-stx version of whatever software you're trying to run and use that. I'm not aware of any way to run individual files directly from a Gotek. Also, you seem to be mixing some terminology. You mention HcX firmware and then a FlashFloppy drive. There is no such thing as a FlashFloppy. There are Gotek and Goex drives and there is HcX and FlashFloppy firmware available for both. Your drive will have one or the other installed, but not both. I have the registered version of HcX firmware on my Gotek, so that's what I've used. I don't have much experience with FlashFloppy. I also have zero Mac experience, so I can't help you there either, sorry. What files/games/software are you attempting to get to run and not having any luck?

It depends on what 520ST you're talking about. If it's just an original, standard 520ST, I'm fairly certain there isn't a composite line. That whole part of the circuit doesn't exist. If it's a 520STM, a 520STFM, or a 520STE, then it would have the appropriate composite circuitry.

You keep your wife happy. Most of those making fun are either in the same boat and trying to pretend they're not, not married, or not happily married. Most wives are extremely wonderful, as long as they're in full control of our balls. My wife gives mine back to me whenever she determines I need them. That arrangement has worked out really well for us for over 15 years and she takes much better care of them than I ever did!

Isn't there a dll that needs to be dropped into the installation directory to be able to access stx files?

Yes.

You can buy 4 1MB SIMMS for $20 or less, so just the memory shouldn't impact pricing all that much one way or the other. Now, if it's missing HD and/or controller, that's a different story.

That's cool that you have some awesome 8-bit products and you're so close. I guess Peoria and Evansville aren't really all that close, but since my wife grew up in the area and still has family there that we visit occasionally, it feels like it's right next door.

I've always made my own using Canakit 2.5A Raspberry Pi power adapters.

No idea. The machine is too new. Try it and see what happens. If they're actually 5200 titles, there won't be an atr version, or any other version other than some type of rom/bin/car image. What titles are you talking about?

Yes, this makes it sound like The 400 doesn't support car images or their headers, so, he's going to need to convert his car images to bin or rom without a header and try again. If they still won't work, he'll need to rename using this criteria depending on what cartridge type the image is from.

Yes and no. They are binaries, but they are not straight dumps. A basic 16KB cart dump would be 16,384 bytes. A 16KB car image; a true car image, not one just renamed to car, would be 16,400 bytes. That 16B header tells the emulator/software/hardware that is using the image what type/brand of cartridge the original cartridge was so that it knows what to do with the cartridge. Not all carts were the same and some had banking schemes and they worked completely different. With a basic bin or rom, you lose this data and many cart images won't run properly. As far as removing the header, I'm not certain myself. I'm sure you could use a hex editor to take off the 16B header and then save the image back out to bin or rom. I think that you might be able to open a car image in Altirra and then save it back out as a bin or rom without the header, but I'm not 100% certain.

I would think that, if it is a cartridge image, that none of those would work. A true CAR image has a 16B header that tells the software/device what type of cartridge it is and how to use it. A bin or rom image don't have that. Renaming a car to bin or rom leaves a strange file with this extra weird 16B header that it shouldn't have, so I'm assuming the emulator thinks it's part of the code, so then the image fails. That's just my opinion of what is happening though, and I could be wrong. If I were you, I'd strip the 16B header from your car images then rename them to rom or bin and try them again.

Hey, thanks! I'll look through these when I get the chance. Much appreciated.

I did years ago. I'll have to look into them again and see what I can put together.

Yes and no. Many of the Antic & Analog disks weren't properly archived as many were double-sided, but only one side is available. If the second sides have been archived since the last time I checked, I'm not aware of it. Still, it would be great to see everything he has properly archived.

I just looked through the images of those three collections and all I can say is WOW! I'd love to stumble onto something like that and to be able to save them. It kills me to think that, if he hadn't saved all of that one collection, it was headed to the dump, and makes me wonder, how many other similar and smaller collections have met the same fate over the decades. It's a tragedy. I'd really love to see all of those Antic & Analog cover disks and APX disks get properly flux imaged and archived.

You're right. I don't sell very often. It's probably been a couple of years since I sold anything and I can't recall ever using their shipping calculator.

That's why I always list my items to include actual shipping costs. I don't feel it's right to charge someone fifty miles away the same price it costs to ship something across the country. At the same time, a lot of people don't like to bid unless they know what shipping costs are going to be. The only way to list it ahead of time is to check 3-4 locations in the country far from you and get an average what it's going to cost and make that your shipping cost. It's a double-edged sword. The buyer either wants to pay pretty close to actual shipping cost or they want to know what it is before they bid, but they can't have both unless they contact the seller and ask how much it would cost to ship to this or that address. Also, it depends on what shipping companies a seller has in their area. In my average size town, it's USPS, UPS, or FedEx, and that's about it. I'm not driving all over town wasting my time and gas looking for some little Mom & Pop shipping establishment to save $1 on shipping. I agree that there are sellers that gouge on shipping to try and make a few extra bucks, but there are just as many unreasonable buyers that have unrealistic expectations. Most ebay sellers aren't Amazon with Prime Two-Day Shipping, and they're never gonna be. Buyers need to adjust their expectations a little as well.

I like unboxing videos too, to a degree. I like to know what to expect when I purchase things, especially something expensive or a tech item. It's nice to have an idea what is included. I just hate glorified unboxing videos that call themselves reviews when they plainly aren't reviewing anything.

I've never understood why people that obviously don't want to help someone waste their time to even post. Unfortunately, your reply about a web search was useless. If you'd read his original post a little closer, you would see that he has a bare, unassembled board, not a completed, ready-to-install unit, so an install manual doesn't help him in the slightest. He was asking for an assembly manual, not an installation manual. What he needs is a schematic or some technical manual detailing the component listing for his board, none of which is available on Lotharek's site or in the install manual, or anywhere else that I can find, and my Google Fu is strong. If you guys want to help, then help. If not, then just keep moving. At the very least, make certain you actually know what a user is asking and what they need before whipping out the less than useless search fu comments. @FastRobPlus, I apologize. Users on here are usually a little more helpful that that. I've looked as well and I can't find anything anywhere detailing the information that you need. I don't ever recall Lotharek selling kits, but you may need to contact him for the information that you need.

And I hate the way that so many of these glorified unboxing videos will call themselves reviews or unboxing and review. I always look at the duration. OK, the video is 3:30. OK, I call BS. It's an unboxing video, period. There's no reviewing being done.

Really weird. This guy has listed an Atari STe for sale on eBay with a pretty high BIN price, but maybe not so high since it includes a monitor. He’s getting no bites and he just keeps relisting without adjusting the price any. This is his third or fourth try. He has no pictures of the computer or monitor at all; only three pictures of the boxes. The thing is, the box definitely says STF, not STe. Where do they keep getting these clueless people?! https://www.ebay.com/itm/204704120991?